What Were Pre-Colonial Zulu Kingdom Cities Like?

This is a good presentation on pre-colonial Zulu cities, but it has some flaws in it that I want to correct.

What is described in the video is not necessarily a “city”, but a military barracks or a military academy for Zulu soldiers.

These military barracks or military academy did not live off plunder and pillage as the video suggests, but They lived off the cattles which was housed in the center, which was correctly presented in the video.

The Zulu military forces supported themselves with agricultural productions and cattle provided for them by the Zulu civilians and by taxes.
Most of these military barracks or military schools were relatively small in rural areas, and housed the Zulu army. For the larger rural settlements in the Zulu Kingdom, those were turned into cities, and they traded with their neighboring towns and cities and those allied with the Zulu Kingdom.
These larger rural cities in the Zulu Kingdom became centers of trade, commerce, and craftsmanship, etc. The craftsmanship included, most notably, products of weapons, shields, uniforms, clothing, etc. These goods were sold, taxed and distributed among the people in the Zulu Kingdom which provided the agricultural products that the Zulu army needed through taxation and trade.

These rural military barracks in the Zulu Kingdom are not “unique” in historical context, but rather quite a common phenomenon throughout history. For instance there were big cities or towns across the Roman Empire which grew out of a military fortification or military barracks housing the Roman legions, the Roman military unit. You can say the Zulu Empire was exactly like the Roman Empire, in which the Romans were expanding their influence and territory of the Roman Empire and absorbing all their conquered “enemies” into Roman culture and way of life. The Roman Empire conquest and influence reached all the way to modern day United Kingdom and Spain. The Roman Empire consolidated all their conquered territories and people and absorbed them under the rulership of the Roman Empire. But you wouldn’t say that that the Roman Empire was a plunder and pillage civilization.

These rural areas in the Zulu Kingdom did not support themselves through pillage and plunder, if they did it was very very rare, and an exception to the rule and law in the Zulu Kingdom. The reason being is that plunder and pillaging is economically destructive and unsustainable. Forcefully confiscating goods from a people who gets nothing in return does not incentivize for further production of those goods. It also forces the victims of the plunder and pillage to leave the area to seek a better safe environment.

The Zulu army did plunder, pillage, and ransacked the area of their “enemies”, those who were not allies and/or absorbed into the Zulu Kingdom, during times of war and conquest. But the end goal of this conquest was to expand the borders and territories of the the Zulu Kingdom, to have the conquered “enemies” young men drafted into the Zulu army and taxation of the conquered people.

The Zulu Kingdom had a very highly centralized government. Military commanders or soldiers were not allowed or permitted to initiate, wage a war, raid against an allied neighboring land or people, or an “enemy” without the authority of approval by the Zulu King, and the Council of Elders.

One of the last major cities in the Zulu Kingdom was Ulundi, until it was invaded
and conquered and burned down by the British army. Ulundi was once the capital of the Zulu Kingdom. Ulundi was the capital seat of the Zulu King, his Ruling Counsels, and the Counsel of Elders. Ulundi still exists today in South Africa.

These rural areas in the Zulu Kingdom, served as a hub of economic development, trade, taxation, as well as military protection, scouting center, military training, expansion of the Zulu territory and borders, absorption and integration of the “conquered people” and lands into the bigger and dominant Zulu Kingdom, and finally, as a powerful tactic to intimidate the “conquered people” to taxation and not to rebel against the Zulu King.

This video gives a good overview of the city structures and architectures in the pre-colonial Zulu Kingdom, but I believe it lacks some historical context and details that I wish we Africans=Black people should do more research into the importance of pre-colonial African architectures, structures and cities.